A facile strategy towards optically tunable, anthraquinone-dyed transparent bamboo

Currently, the limited color diversity of transparent bamboo constrains its potential applications. Herein, a facile method for fabricating dyed transparent bamboo is proposed. Bamboo substrates were first delignified, followed by impregnation and curing with UV resin. During the impregnation stage, three types of anthraquinone dyes (Solvent Red 111, Solvent Green 28, and Solvent Blue 104) were incorporated into the resin at five different concentration gradients (0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.07 wt%). In contrast to conventional reactive dyeing processes, which often require multiple reagent additions and involve complex procedures, the present approach achieves efficient coloration simply by adding trace amounts of dye directly into the resin system in a single step. The resulting dyed transparent bamboo exhibits excellent overall performance: single-layer samples retain a high optical transmittance exceeding 70%, while woven structures maintain approximately 50% transmittance. The material also demonstrates favorable mechanical properties, vivid and stable coloration, and significant resistance to yellowing. These integrated characteristics make it a promising candidate for high-value applications such as decorative architecture, energy-efficient building components, and specialized packaging.